The Familiars
by Stacey Halls
Young Fleetwood Shuttleworth, a noblewoman, is with child again. None of her previous pregnancies have borne fruit, and her husband, Richard, is anxious for an heir. Then Fleetwood discovers a hidden doctor’s letter that carries a dire prediction: she will not survive another birth. By chance she meets a midwife named Alice Grey, who promises to help her deliver a healthy baby. But Alice soon stands accused of witchcraft. Is there more to Alice than meets the eye? Fleetwood must risk everything to prove her innocence. As the two women’s lives become intertwined, the Witch Trials of 1612 loom. Time is running out; both their lives are at stake. Only they know the truth. Only they can save each other.
The Familiars is a historical fiction witch novel inspired by the real life Pendle Hill Witch Trials of 1612. Several of its characters are based on real people in Lancaster during the witch hysteria of the early 1600s. While I knew what to expect from the synopsis, I was still surprised by the tone of this novel and where its focus really lay.
The Familiars may not be the book you should read if you’re looking for a novel that feels witchy. At its heart, The Familiars is just a historical fiction novel. Yes, it revolves around witch trials but so much of the novel just focuses on Fleetwood Shuttleworth’s (her name is a mouthful and ridiculous but she was actually a real person) domestic life as a noblewoman. That’s where this novel fell short for me. The story followed Fleetwood through her fourth and hopefully first successful pregnancy and her everyday life as a young noblewoman trying to survive this pregnancy amidst difficulties with her husband, Richard. I appreciated the realistic and uncomfortable depiction of women’s roles in society with the pressure to provide an heir and just how replaceable wives were. It was uncomfortable because Fleetwood read like a grown woman but was only 17 years old. I found the domestic drama somewhat boring and unsatisfying, though I did end up caring enough to be aggravated at times.
I was excited to read a novel that used a real historical period of witch hysteria as a backdrop but the witches, witchcraft, and the trials were lacking in this novel. There are barely any witches involved—just mention of the women being accused and arrested—and there’s little to no witchcraft itself which could’ve added some depth, intrigue and mystery, a sense of something bigger going on. There were some moments where I thought something darker related to witchcraft was being shown, but it never went anywhere and didn’t do anything for the story on the whole. I understand the point of the novel was the witch hysteria and trials, not the witches themselves, but it felt like the witches and trials played a small role in what was ultimately Fleetwood’s story of troubled domesticity. I don’t even understand the title of the novel. Why name a book The Familiars when the idea of familiars is barely mentioned and hardly an important enough point for this story to be named after? For a novel based on a real historical period and widespread fear of witches, there was a surprising lack of atmosphere where it should’ve been full of fear, anger, suspicion, and resentment. The real Alice Grey was the only accused Pendle Witch who was found not guilty. The Familiars set out to contemplate why but did so in a way that didn’t even revolve around the most interesting person: Alice Grey herself. It feels like a missed opportunity that Alice didn’t even have much of a voice in this novel. Overall, the book was somewhat entertaining but ultimately boring. There was little substance to the actual events regarding the trials and accusations. Even the development with Fleetwood’s domestic affairs with Richard and her pregnancy as they connected with the impending trials just felt over the top and ridiculous as they came to a climax. It wasn’t a very exciting book and the end was unsatisfying.
Fleetwood was a frustrating character. The idea that she could’ve been riding a horse while pregnant and that her husband would allow her to do so in a time when they barely let pregnant women stand on their own is preposterous. The fact that Fleetwood had three miscarriages before this pregnancy and was still willing to go riding around and falling off horses and just generally being careless was strange, considering she wanted her child to be born safely but also wanted the security providing an heir would bring her. Her development over the course of the novel was somewhat unrealistic and rushed. While I did enjoy that this different perspective of a witch book focused on a regular woman defending an accused woman, I don’t think it’s representative of the time and a strange thing for a young woman in as precarious a situation as Fleetwood’s to do. Again, she’s in danger of losing her baby and possibly her husband as a consequence—why would she risk everything to stand up for a woman she’s just met? I’d like the answer to be that she wanted to stand up for all women but really, she needed Alice to get through her pregnancy so it was a bit of selfishness and something of a friendship that developed between them that spurred her defense. It’s historically unrealistic and even within the context of this story alone, did not make sense. I don’t think a woman would’ve risked her own precarious situation for Alice and don’t think she would’ve gone from meek and mild to standing up to her husband and other men in as short a time as Fleetwood did. Also, Fleetwood’s total acceptance of the nastier parts of her life with Richard late in the book is historically realistic but so frustrating and demonstrates inconsistent character development. Are you standing up for yourself or not, Fleetwood? Alice was an underwhelming, quiet character that had little impact on me as a reader and little impact on the actual plot except for being Fleetwood’s catalyst for standing up to Roger and others. Roger and Richard were decent characters—realistic and terribly condescending which enraged me but made sense given the time period and the situation. I did hate them both, though. Especially Richard—what a pig.
The Familiars is a decent debut historical fiction novel. It was an underwhelming though still entertaining read that had decent writing but lacked the appropriate atmosphere. The focus on the witch hysteria of the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 was completely watered down and overshadowed by the focus on Fleetwood. I appreciate the idea of a novel focused on real witch trials and a non-witch defending an accused woman in a time when that was basically unheard of but in nearly every way, The Familiars missed the mark.
3/5
Have you read The Familiars? Let me know what you thought in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
Madison